Video: Obama/GOP Slurpee summit a big bag of nothin’

posted at 4:15 pm on November 30, 2010 by Allahpundit

Lots of pleasantries but no progress on tax cuts, although Obama announced that he’s sending Geithner and OMB Director Jack Lew to meet with members of each party’s caucuses to try to hash out a deal. (Dave Camp will represent House Republicans.) Expect Dems to push a plan along the lines of what Schumer’s proposing, caving on tax cuts for the wealthy ($250,000) but insisting on tax hikes for the very wealthy ($1 million). Can Reid get two Republican votes for that in the Senate? Better yet, can he hold onto the votes of liberal Democrats? In case the answer to both questions is yes, prominent members of each party’s base are spending this Cooperation Day by reminding them that compromise is unacceptable.

One minor surprise about the meeting via Cantor afterwards: The One made a rare admission of error.

House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R., Va.) said he was pleased with the meeting and praised President Obama for striking a somewhat conciliatory tone. He said Obama admitted that he had not sufficiently reached out to Republicans in the previous two years and pledged to do more so in the future. “I was encouraged by the president’s remarks regarding his perhaps not having reached out enough to us in the last session, and that this meeting was the beginning of a series in which he hoped that we could work together in a different fashion for the benefit of the American people, given the problems that we face,” Cantor said.

At least one GOP leadership aide complained yesterday that Obama “forgot” to credit Republicans for proposing a federal pay freeze during the campaign, but McConnell et al. declined to mention it today. Which is the smart move, I think: The next two years will be largely an exercise in narrative-shaping for 2012, with Obama blaming Republican spitefulness for the logjam in Congress and the GOP blaming Obama’s refusal to heed the results of the midterms. The more civil they are to him publicly, the harder it’ll be for him and the media to frame their policy opposition as personal petulance rather than as a stand on principle. In fact, follow the links up top and you’ll find both Boehner and Obama in their statements after the presser emphasizing that there’s a reason we have a two-party system. That’s their way of reassuring their respective bases that they prefer gridlock to compromising on core philosophical differences, but it’s also Boehner’s way of preparing independents for another round of “party of no” whining from the left.

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Expect Dems to push a plan along the lines of what Schumer’s proposing, caving on tax cuts for the wealthy ($250,000) but insisting on tax hikes for the very wealthy ($1 million).

Dave Camp

On extending rates for different time periods for those above and below $200,000/$250,000 in income:
“Their plan to do so by ‘decoupling’ the rates, providing a longer extension for some than for others, however, is a terrible idea and a total non-starter”

I ,for one,have never been a Cantor fan anyway.He looks chickified.If Im not mistaken,isn’t he up in 2012?

ohiobabe on November 30, 2010 at 4:28 PM

ALL the house is up in 2012. But Cantor looks like he is too impressed with his face time with this worthless prez. I was not counting on him to be starstruck. I wonder how wussy he would become if Obama enlisted Lady Gaga or Kanye West?

It’s old-pals-together time in D.C. again. Bend over and get ready — Osama Obama and the self-anointed royalty in Congress are coming for your money and freedoms. Party affiliation doesn’t matter; whats ours is theirs, and they won’t rest until they get their pork-greased hands on it.

Did OblathBlath have a lispth?
What about the Estate tax the most dastardly of all taxes?
Maybe we would be better off if instead of being all nicey nice and Bi-partisany the repubs would give the liar another fat lipsth!
We didn’t send ya there to pass the demrat agenda and if ya can’t remember that we will remind ya in 2012…Can’t come soon enough!

Jeebus, you guys. I’m with AllahP, I think this is stratergery. After all, shutting down the government didn’t really work for Newt. And since Republicans don’t have a majority in the Senate, and Obama has his power of veto, they’re going to have to play “reasonable” to get anything done, or as “well, we tried, and we’re very reasonable” if Obama vetoes.

It is raining here in Ohio and my dog died a couple of days ago so whoever’s nutsack you go after,I’m all for it!

ohiobabe on November 30, 2010 at 4:35 PM

I’m with ya its cold and snowin in IA and I had to put my lab of 13 years down last week.
That lab was a lot more trustworthy, reliable, harder working, and effective than any Congress Critter or Senate Scumbag, but by the looks of this meeting the Repubs already been neutered!

It really bothers me that your first statement has the words tax cuts!!! There are no tax cuts on the table- only maintenance of the same tax rates or major increases. You have contributed to the leftist distortion of the language!

I’m with ya its cold and snowin in IA and I had to put my lab of 13 years down last week
//
Oh,I feel for you,mine would be 13 next year.I told my husband these dogs are more faithful than most people now adays.

When Cantor says that they won’t try to repeal the “cover pre-existing conditions part of the health care bill it may be a long two years. That is one of the most idiotic things in the health care bill and demonstrates a complete lack of even an elementary understanding of economics. The cover children through age 26 isn’t far behind.

I lost all respect for Cantor when he gave into that wretch Debbie Wasserman Schultz and disparaged the House candidate who dressed up as a Nazi for his re-enactment group. My late brother was a history teacher and a re-enactor and they’re the most patriotic people you’ll find because they want to bring history to life.

Man, the matching outfits are something else. I was kinda OK with the crying, (I mean it was weird, but I felt all that emotion myself)but the outfits, not so much.

And I also voted for gridlock. Don’t let them pass one more frickin’ thing on their agenda. I want federal agencies to be de-funded and no compromise on the tax cuts. If they wuss out, we all oughta be fightin’ mad.

Once upon a time: it was the GOP that excoriated the left for waving the surrender flag. This summit is evidence that it is the GOP that surrendered -after they were handed the victory by the tea party. I predict a third party ofr socialism -there is no middle road now!

Wonderful . . . now, continue all of the tax cuts and stop wasting our time taking our hard earned money. If Obama and the rest of the left want to support all their parasitic constituents then they can take them home with them.

Politicians always say things about how people don’t want gridlock or about how people want both parties to work together to solve problems and get things done, find common ground, etc.

Who are these people? I never hear anything like that. I say all that is BS. What I want is gridlock. I want them to stop trying to fix things. They have already done enough. The only thing they can do for me is to unwind and repeal some of the existing onerous regulations and taxes that are on the books. Or they can begin the process to rightsize the government to suit the current realities. Nobody can afford the solutions provided by the federal government.

it’s also Boehner’s way of preparing independents for another round of “party of no” whining from the left.

I embrace being the party of HELL no!

Is there a Repub out there with a dam spine? Other than the lovely and gracious and right, Sarah?

dhunter on November 30, 2010 at 5:13 PM
//
Other than Jindal,I don’t think so.

ohiobabe on November 30, 2010 at 5:14 PM

What about Mike Pence? He seems to be showing up on the tube often these days. He shut Client No. 9 down nicely the other day over on cnn. He also did a nice enough job giving the keynote for the Federalist Society recently. I think America might like a solidly conservative Indianian. So far, I do.

Politicians always say things about how people don’t want gridlock or about how people want
//
The clip I heard was Cantor or Boehner,one of them,saying the polls said 70% want to work together and not repeal all of o/care?!what the heck,who did they poll,dems?! Give me a break.

Sorry for your loss every time I go to the window I still look to the kennel to see what he’s doin or if I go outside realize he won’t bark a greeting and a take me for a walk request, but I still have my Cocker and she’s our baby.

Sorry for your loss every time I go to the window I still look to the kennel to see what he’s doin
//
Good grief! Now I’m on a cryin’ jag again.I’ve lost other animals,cats,parakeet even a pet rooster but this.This is too much.Anyway,thanks.Maybe after awhile I’ll get another.My problem is trying to compare every other pup to the one you lost.

The notion of “gridlock” at this point is nothing more than a propaganda tool. Look, the moonbats still have majorities in both houses. They can pass anything they like, as they have with a lot of legislation already.

That doesn’t change till January. This meeting was a tactic and a waste of time and resources.

Hope the R’s don’t start trusting the Won. He’s a snake like all the other dems and whatever he says, expect the opposite action. This was a show so they could all smile at a camera and spout their talking points. We didn’t vote for compromise or getting along with the snakes.